Super Cat

Infobox musical artist
Name = Super Cat


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Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = William Maragh
Alias = Don Dada, Wild Apache
Born = 1966
Died =
Origin = Kingston, Jamaica
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Genre = Dancehall, Reggae
Occupation = Deejay
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Label = Columbia Records
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Super Cat (born William Maragh in Kingston, Jamaica, 1963) is one of the originators of the late 80's and early 90's dancehall movement. Super Cat is a Jamaican of Indian descent. His nickname, the "Wild Apache" was given to him by his mentor Early B. [ [http://wm05.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jpfwxqq5ldhe AllMusic.com] ]

Born of Indo-Jamaican descent, Super Cat was raised in Kingston’s tough Seivright Gardens neighborhood, then known as Cockburn Pen. "Super Cat was born home delivery," as he tells it, "and I never, ever reached the low-spital (sic)." Cockburn Pen was a hotbed of dancehall reggae and home to ground-breaking deejays like Prince Jazzbo and U-Roy. As a child, Super Cat heard the latest songs by these veterans blasting from local record shops. By the time he was eight years old, he was hanging out at a local club called Bamboo Lawn, assisting the crew of the Soul Imperial sound system and absorbing the dancehall rhymes of deejays like Dillinger (musician), Ranking Trevor and Early B The Doctor.

Super Cat, a.k.a. Don Dada, a.k.a. the Wild Apache, came roaring out of Jamaica in the 1980s, blazing a new trail through the dancehall reggae scene with hits like "Ghetto Red Hot," "Nuff Man A Dead," "Boops," and "Dolly My Baby." One of the first Jamaican deejays to break through the U.S. market, Maragh helped pioneer the fusion of dancehall with Hip Hop and R&B, collaborating with then-rising stars like Puff Daddy, Heavy D, Mary J. Blige, Wu-Tang Clan’s Method Man, Kris Kross and DJ Muggs from Cypress Hill. Outspoken in his attitude on politics, sex, drugs, and violence, Cat’s talk is tough, his message is conscious and positive, a cry for justice that rings from the ghettos of Kingston, Jamaica, Port of spain, Trinidad, New York City, South Central Los Angeles, inner city Toronto and around the world.

His first single was entitled "Mr. Walker" and was a hit in Jamaica. His song "Boops" came soon after with the release of his debut album "Si Boops Deh" and was a massive hit that spawned hundreds of responses and cemented him a place in reggae history. He put his name in the history books and notched a place in U.S. music scene with the album "Don Dada". The album featured heavyweights in the hip hop arena such as Heavy D and The Notorious B.I.G., and songs like "Don Dada", "Dolly My Baby" and "Ghetto Red Hot" are considered classics. Controversy has always surrounded his career. One example is the death of the popular reggae artist Nitty Gritty, killed in a murky incident in New York City, where Super Cat was accused but denied any involvement. He also had an infamous bottle-tossing incident in a 1991 Sting stage show performance with then rival Ninjaman.

Super Cat had a number of hit singles in the early 1990s, including "Don Dada", "Ghetto Red Hot" and "Dem No Worry We" with Heavy D. In 1992, he was featured on the remix of "Jump" with Kris Kross, and he also collaborated with them in 1993 for their song "It's Alright". These hits made him The Source magazine dance hall artist of the year in 1993. He was also an early collaborator with The Notorious B.I.G., featuring the then unknown artist (along with Mary J. Blige, Jesse West and Puff Daddy) on the B-side remix of "Dolly My Baby" in 1993. The title song, "Don Dada" was a reply to many jabs made by Ninjaman.

Super Cat was featured on the number one hit "Fly", a 1997 single by Sugar Ray from their platinum album. He collaborated with India Arie on her hit song "Video" in 2001, and with Jadakiss and The Neptunes on "The Don Of Dons" in 2003. Also in 2003, he collaborated with 112 for their song "Na, Na, Na". Following the death of his long time road manager Fred 'The Thunder' Donner in 2004, Super Cat released a multi-cd tribute album entitled "Reggaematic Diamond All-Stars" that featured contributions from Yami Bolo, Michael Prophet, Linval Thompson, Nadine Sutherland and Sizzla among others. Apache Indian another Indian Descent Reggae artist from Birmingham has a lot of Inspiration from Super Cat, other artists who have been influenced by Super Cat include the likes of Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, Collie Buddz, Sean Paul and many more.

Discography

Albums

*1985 "Si Boops Deh" (Techniques)
*1986 "Boops!" (Skengdon)
*1988 "Sweets for My Sweet" (Wild Apache)
*1991 "Cabin Stabbin" (with Nicodemus & Junior Demus)(Wild Apache)
*1992 "Don Dada" (Columbia)
*1994 "Good, the Bad, the Ugly & the Crazy" (with Nicodemus, Junior Demus and Junior Cat) (Columbia)
*1995 "The Struggle Continues" (Colombia)
*2004 "Reggaematic Diamond All-Stars" (Wild Apache)

References

External links

* [http://www.super-cat.com Wild Apache Productions]
* [http://wm05.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jpfwxqq5ldhe Super Cat on All Music Guide]
* [http://music.aol.com/artist/super-cat/22125/main Super Cat at AOL Music]
* [http://www.rhapsody.com/supercat Super Cat at Rhapsody]
* [http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/music/artist/card/0,,498914,00.html Super Cat Videos]
* [http://www.dancehallreggae.com/SUPERCAT.html Super Cat at Dancehall Reggae]
* [http://www.geocities.com/freddonnerlives Fred Donner Tribute Site]
* [http://www.geocities.com/easymrcat Super Cat Photo Gallery]